Google Inc. is close to settling a U.S. criminal investigation
into allegations it made hundreds of millions of dollars by
accepting ads from online pharmacies that break U.S. laws,
according to people familiar with the matter.

The Internet company disclosed in a cryptic regulatory filing
earlier this week that it was setting aside $500 million to
potentially resolve a case with the Justice Department. A payment
of that size would be among the highest penalties paid by
companies in disputes with the U.S. government.

Google gave few details in its filing about the probe, saying only
that it involved “the use of Google advertising by certain
advertisers.”